Being a freshman in college I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know how many classes would be like, what clubs to join, or how I would be able to make a difference. But that all changed once classes began and the on rush of support came forward.  Classes turned out to be great, the get involved fair opened me up to tons of clubs and I learned how to make a difference. That lies within internships.

During the Honors Experience in June, I was told a lot about internships from my political science preceptor Prof. Michael Rodriguez. I was somewhat skeptical about the credibility major internships offered, just because it was unknown territory, but I was even more skeptical about the types of local internships that were even available. But like fate, I received an e-mail from Professor Rodriguez. In the email there was advice about a local internship that would require working with the Senator Jim Whelan. Now you have to understand that being a poly sci major, I one day hope to follow a career in politics, so I was pretty ecstatic when this internship position opened up. I applied for the internship and to my delight, it continues to be amazing.

Internships aren’t about getting coffee, or spend mindless hours doing mindless paperwork. Internships are about getting involved, gaining tons of experience, and meeting new people who have a lot to offer. And that’s exactly what this internship entailed. Just last week, as I helped represent the Senator at the Latino Democratic Caucus, I enjoyed a meal with mayors, and assemblymen and other dignitaries. I learned the true value behind every supporting vote, and how every person you talk to while canvassing, or telephoning makes a difference. And because I’ve talked to thousands of people, I have made a difference.

For any of those remaining that still doubt the credibility of internships, I offer you this piece of advice. Take a chance, devote some time and watch as the payoff gets bigger and bigger. There’s a whole world still out there to explore, and a little experience never hurts. Internships are there for you benefit and I can honestly say, my internship has confirmed my goals in life, well at least for the time being.

“The Hyena gives birth out of her clitoris,” says Mary Roach. She was as funny and snarky in person as she was in Spook. Her lewd and witty humor did not stop there, for she went on to even explain that our nose contains the same erectile tissue as our penis. I thought someone would stop her and say, “hey, too much information Mrs. Roach!” Instead, all I heard was laughter throughout the entire Performing Arts Center.

Roach’s ambiguous ending caused me distress, but her thoughts on her ending in the convocation gave me solace. Roach somberly said at the convocation, “I would like to change the ending, because it was misunderstand, and I failed to express myself properly.” This helped me regain a sphere of respect for Mary Roach, for I lost a little bit the first time I read that ending. What I enjoyed most from the convocation was Roach’s eccentric personally, and this is exemplified from the audacity she displayed while answering the audience questions.

Not only did Roach have no obligation to answering any question, but she answered these questions enthusiastically and coherently. She even told the audience we could ask her anything, and they cross a few lines on the way. For example she was asked, “What was the weirdest thing you found about sex?” Our author then gave an answer about fetal masturbation. This made everyone laugh and enjoy the convocation.

I was exuberated when I heard that the author of our seminar book was speaking at convocation, and I enjoyed it a lot.  I hope our college has more convocations to come that inspire and entertain me as that one did!

Although I have attended a few Stockton events so far, the Theatre Club’s Whose Line, on September 23^rd, was one that stuck out to me. The first Whose Line that I saw was during the Honors Experience, where I met one of my now, best friends, who is also in the Honors program. I unfortunately missed the second Whose Line during welcome week, but got to usher and attend this past week’s, for which I am incredibly thankful.

Involving myself with the Theatre Club was a choice that I can already tell I am not likely to regret. Standing outside of the Campus Center Theatre provided me with the chance to see people supporting the group of actors who were about to go on stage, and ultimately the most important people that would be at the show, the audience. With out an audience a show and actors are nothing. Then being an audience member I was able to appreciate not only how funny the actors are, but how much bravery they have. Being able to go up on stage in front of a crowd with no plan or idea of what will happen is a scary thing.

After being in my high school’s drama club I understand the rush of getting on stage, but before this Whose Line, I never understood the heart pounding rush of getting on stage with no plan. I joined the actors on stage during this Whose Line during the rhyming game. As I stood in line waiting to taking my turn, performing a rhyming scene, I could feel the old feeling of adrenaline in my veins and a new feeling of nervousness as I tried to think of a word that was hard to rhyme. Suddenly I was in the front of the line rhyming words here and there, enjoying myself in a way that I forgot I could. I thought that with the end of high school, it would be the end of my time on a stage, but Whose Line reminded me of why it was a part of my life I never wanted to lose, the joy of being on a stage.

First event blog

Attending the convocation was an unforgettable experience. I didn’t even know what the word convocation meant until this morning. For the record, it means a large formal gathering, or a ceremonial event at a college where awards are presented. Though it was an honor to here and to meet the author who slaved for years to produce the book that we read this summer, acceptance, even honorary acceptance into our class seems a dubious distinction. The author’s charismatic presence and ingenuous presentation helped in fostering a new appreciation of her book. It makes me wish that we could meet, or at least hear all authors who have ever written a book. Considering that the majority of them are no longer with us however, I guess it would cramp their style, and we should just be happy for the clarification from Mary Roach.

The evening began predictably enough. Those who are either   compulsively early to everything, or who don’t have anywhere else to be didn’t disappoint. We were gathered in the Performing Art Center way before four thirty. Pre curtain conversation, aka gossip abounded. The general mood was one of expectation. No one really knew what to expect, even if they did happen to read the book. When persons began to be admitted, there was the novelty of card swiping, which threw off some of the pencil pushing crowd who feel obliged to sign everything on a clip board, but no riot resulted. Then there was the usual directive to head toward the farthest row, and fill in without leaving any spaces. Of course, there were the usual refusals to do so, and that was fine too.

I myself had the very pleasant experience of having the first person to say a word to me all day being one who held up a phone and asking with what I can imagine was all the earnestness he possessed,

“Do you think this girl’s butt looks fat?”

At least he had the common courtesy to say excuse me first. Following that lovely encounter, there were the moments of waiting while those kind gentle folks who weren’t ridiculously early to file in to their seats. When the requisite event announcement was made, and the equally indispensable administrative speeches were given, most were prepared for the evening’s presentation, but not necessarily for the ensuing entertainment.

Mary Roach’s inimitable discussion was fortunately or not, not a rehashing of the book. Instead, she chose to give the students the deeper meanings that shadowed her writing. The aeration was not perfect by any means, but it seemed unaffected. As well as insight as to the location of various erectile tissues, the students were given a glimpse of the author’s method and writing style. The message that rang forth loud and clear was,

“Be curious.”

It was an appropriate message, and one apparently well received considering what happened next. It was nice that Mary Roach devoted much of her allotted time to questions. She said frankly that they should be as uninhibited as possible. Many students obliged, and she gave equally satisfactory answers, to everyone’s delight. After the presentation, many stayed to have the value of their books increased, so when they went to sell the copies that they didn’t purchase on eBay, the circle would be complete. Those who did doubtless got a little more of Mary Roach’s humor.

All in all, it was a lovely evening for most. It is an experience that I wouldn’t trade for all the mental stability in the world, and that’s a lie. It was pretty cool though.

During my first few weeks at Stockton I signed up for the Day of Service so I could be active in the community. When I went into the Campus Center in the morning it was full of people who were all there to make a difference in a community. After breakfast my friends and I all went into the event room to choose where we wanted to go. I went to the PAL table and was told that we would be painting and I was sold. I started the day by scraping off the old paint with scrapers and brushes. When I finished I started painting the outlines by the trim with the brushes. I did that for the rest of the morning, then after lunch, we all went together and reflected on why we were doing this service.
After lunch I continued painting the trim and around the windows with the small brushes until we were finished. On the way back to Stockton I reflected on the difference I made during the time I spent helping the PAL. The police officer who showed us around and told us what needed to be done was ecstatic about the work done. It felt good to know that you had a positive impact on him. I am looking forward to the next day of service to provide more service to others and have the same positive impact on someone.

On September 17^th and 18^th, tables lined the halls of Stockton’s academic wings, each advertising a club or activity and beckoning passersby to join. It was the annual Get Involved Fair. Starting in J-Wing with the History Club, students, including myself, made their way through the line of displays until reaching A-Wing and the Math Club. There were so many choices, from Gaming Club’s table full of board games, card games, and video games that stretched into the middle of the hall, to Cooking Club’s free cookie decorating and SET’s lollipop giveaway.

At first, I only did a quick walk-through after my earliest class on Tuesday. I had a plan. I was going to join Math and Theatre Club, and that was all at the moment. However, right away I was drawn to History Club, then I passed by the ASA and could not stop myself from joining. At that time, there were not many clubs set up (it was only about a half hour into the first day of the event), so I left, satisfied with my four clubs. The next day, I returned with a couple friends who had not been to the Fair yet. I only meant to tag along, but the Gaming Club’s vibrant display looked like too much fun to pass up. By the end of the day, I had joined a total of nine clubs.

By attending the Get Involved Fair, it was easy to see how diverse and accommodating Stockton is. There are clubs for everyone, catering to every hobby, major, and service a person can imagine. The members who man the tables are all very charismatic and informative, eager to tell curious students about all their clubs have to offer. The Fair is an ideal opportunity to truly get involved in Stockton and get to know people with similar interests to you or even discover a new activity that you have never tried before. I would definitely recommend attending the next Fair if you missed this one, and if for some reason you are still hesitant, just think about all of the freebies you would be missing out on.

On Saturday, September 7^th, Stockton hosted its annual Day of Service. I have done a lot of community service in the past, and I was excited for a day specifically dedicated to helping others! One of my friends and I arrived at the event room in the campus center, and it was extremely packed with other students. There were so many people that were volunteering to help out!

My friend and I walked up to one of the tables that were not filled and signed up for helping out at the art show at the boardwalk. The event was called “Do Art,” and we were tasked with handing out ballots to the customers so they could choose who their favorite artists were. However, handing out ballots proved more difficult than we thought. Most of the people we talked to did not want to take the ballots, so we only ended up giving out a few.

Though we were not able to do much with our original job, we were able to help out in other ways. At one point there was a wind that knocked down some of the art pieces at one of the artist’s stands, so my friend and I helped set the masterpieces back up. We also brought more ballots up to one of the artist’s stands, who had run out of them.

After helping out at the art show, we held a short reflection session and boarded the buses to head back to Stockton. Volunteering at the boardwalk was not only beneficial to the artists, but it was also a lot of fun! We saw so many different pieces of art, including paintings, sculptures, and even body paint! It felt good to be giving back to the community of artists. It was a great volunteering experience, and I’ll be sure to attend the next Day of Service in October!

            For my first Stockton event I chose to help with the Red Cross Blood Drive on campus. I volunteered to work the sign-up tables in the Campus Center for a few hours one afternoon, and also decided to donate blood at the drive. During high school I participated in campaigns for an annual Blood Drive; I signed fellow classmates up to donate and helped organize the post-donation snacks. Having enjoyed my previous experience, I decided that Stockton’s Blood Drive would be an appropriate entrance into the service-learning requirement.

The first day of sign-ups was fairly successful during the time I was there. Tables were set up around the lower floor of the Campus Center food court and a sign-up sheet with a multitude of time slots was provided for students. I tried to answer any questions that potential donors had and gave out paper reminders with the date and time of their scheduled appointment. Unfortunately, appointments did not keep to the schedule on the actual day.

On Thursday, I had a 12:45 appointment; as courtesy, I arrived fifteen minutes early. After waiting in the staging area for approximately an hour, I moved on to the computer questionnaire and eventually began giving blood an hour and thirty minutes after the appointment time dictated. Every Red Cross employee I encountered was friendly and professional; and, despite the minor inconvenience, it was rewarding to help “save up to three lives,” as the slogan says. For subsequent blood drives, I would strongly recommend a punctual scheduling and donating process; but otherwise, I would like to commend all of the Stockton students and Red Cross volunteers for donating their time and effort to successfully complete the drive!